When will the Charlotte Edwards Cup start?
The 20-over competition begins on Saturday 14 May with all eight women’s regional team in action on the opening day.
The month-long competition will conclude with Finals Day at the County Ground, Northampton, on Saturday 11 June.
What are the groups and format?
The format is the same as last summer, when South East Stars were the inaugural champions, with the eight teams split into two equal groups.
Group A: Central Sparks, South East Stars, Sunrisers, Western Storm
Group B: Lightning, Northern Diamonds, Thunder, Southern Vipers
Each team will play six group-stage matches – three at home and three away. The best group winner progresses immediately to the final of Finals Day.
The semi-final on Finals Day will be contested by the other group winner and the best second-placed team. The winner of that match will progress to the final.
How can I follow the matches?
All Charlotte Edwards Cup matches will be live streamed and you can find the streams and match centres here.
Will there be double headers with the Vitality Blast?
Yes, there will be 10 double headers this summer.
Sunday 29 May
Central Sparks v SE Stars; Birmingham Bears v Durham – Edgbaston
Northern Diamonds v Thunder; Yorkshire Vikings v Leicestershire Foxes – Headingley
Western Storm v Sunrisers; Somerset v Essex Eagles – The Cooper Associates County Ground, Tauntonn
Loughborough Lightning v Southern Vipers; Notts Outlaws v Northamptonshire Steelbacks – Trent Bridge
Wednesday 1 June
Western Storm v SE Stars; Gloucestershire v Kent Spitfires – The Seat Unique Stadium, Bristol
Thunder v Southern Vipers; Lancashire Lightning v Derbyshire Falcons – Emirates Old Trafford
Northern Diamonds v Loughborough Lightning; Durham v Worcestershire Rapids – Riverside
Sunrisers v Central Sparks; Northamptonshire Steelbacks v Leicestershire Foxes – County Ground, Northampton
Saturday 3 June
Thunder v Lightning; Lancashire Lightning v Northamptonshire Steelbacks – Emirates Old Trafford
Sunday 4 June
Southern Vipers v Northern Diamonds; Hampshire Hawks v Sussex Sharks – The Ageas Bowl
You can follow each team now, via Twitter:
Central Sparks: @CentralSparks
Lightning: @Lightningcric
Northern Diamonds: @North_Diamonds
Thunder: @Thundercric
South East Stars: @SEStarsCricket
Southern Vipers: @VipersKSL
Sunrisers: @Sunriserscrick
Western Storm: @_WesternStorm
What is the background of the eight teams playing in the Charlotte Edwards Cup?
The eight teams are formed of First-Class Counties and National Counties – and Loughborough University - who work together at the elite end of the women’s domestic game to support a squad of professional and semi-professional players, as well as an academy.
The eight regions are:
Central Sparks (Warwickshire CCC & Worcestershire CCC, Herefordshire, Shropshire, Staffordshire)
Lightning (Loughborough University, Derbyshire CCC, Leicestershire CCC, Nottinghamshire CCC, Lincolnshire)
Northern Diamonds (Yorkshire CCC, Durham CCC, Northumberland)
Thunder (Lancashire CCC, Cheshire, Cumbria)
South East Stars (Surrey CCC, Kent CCC)
Southern Vipers (Hampshire Cricket Ltd, Sussex CCC, Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Dorset, Isle of Wight, Oxfordshire)
Sunrisers (Middlesex CCC, Essex CCC, Northamptonshire CCC, Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Hertfordshire, Huntingdonshire, Norfolk, Suffolk)
Western Storm (Glamorgan CCC, Gloucestershire CCC, Somerset CCC, Cricket Wales, Cornwall, Devon, Wiltshire)